Germany’s long-distance rail market is about to see a shake-up. After decades of dominance by Deutsche Bahn, Italian private high-speed operator Italo is preparing to challenge the ICE with its own trains.
Tag: FlixTrain
Flixtrain wants to run trains in the Netherlands
FlixTrain is preparing to launch direct services in the Netherlands, according to Flix chief executive André Schwämmlein, RailTech reports. Flixtrain is currently active in Germany.
RAIL TOUR OF GERMANY | Avoiding delay-plagued ICEs in favour of regional trains
October 2024. During a week-long whistle-stop tour of Germany, we visit Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt, Weimar in Thuringia, Coburg in Upper Franconia (Bavaria) and Kassel in Hesse. Smaller cities, yes. But each with their own significance. Untouched by overtourism. We’re avoiding using the white trains of DB Fernverkehr, Deutsche Bahn‘s long-distance section and opt to use…
Leo Express wants night train service from Slovakia to Ostend, Belgium
Leo Express, a Czech railway operator, intends to introduce a night train service between Ostend in Belgium and Bratislava in Slovakia via Germany and Czechia from mid-December 2026; Thibault Lapers reports on his Mobilithib Substack. Leo Express notified the Czech Office for the Protection of Economic Competition (Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže) of its intentions.
VIDEO | Berlin start-up Nox to launch night trains with entirely private rooms from 2027
A new player is entering the European mobility space. Nox (night in Latin), a Berlin-based startup is on a mission to offer a real alternative to short-haul flights. From the end of 2027, Nox plans to operate Europe-wide overnight trains with fully personal rooms for one or two people at the price of a flight….
FlixTrain orders 65 trainsets with Talgo and Siemens fit for Europe
FlixTrain, the private rail operator in Germany and subsidiary of global travel-tech company Flix SE, has announced on 27 May 2025 a landmark investment in European rail transport with the purchase of 65 high-speed trainsets.
Dutch budget train GoVolta postponed after not getting funds
Dutch start-up train operator GoVolta will not be able to start train services this year after Rabobank decided against granting the new rail company a loan. The train paths (‘slots’ on the rails) allocated for GoVolta’s budget trains to Berlin in Germany, Copenhagen in Denmark and Basel in Switzerland have now been returned.
‘Hotel on rails’ Midnight Trains announce end of project before it actually started operations
In their weekly Friday at midnight newsletter, Midnight Trains have announced it their “death”. The French company wanted to start a ‘hotel on rails‘ upscale night train service linking the United Kingdom and the European continent.
SNCF and NMBS / SNCB to link Paris to Brussels with ‘slow’ classic train in about 3 hours from December 2024
France‘s national train operator SNCF Voyageurs has submitted an application to the French transport authority to start driving between Brussels and Paris with Belgian rolling stock from December 2024, Treinreiziger.nl reports.
European Commission supports 10 pilot projects for cross-border train travel, but Back On Track Belgium calls out key weakness
The European Commission will support ten pilot project for new cross-border services and the improvement of existing ones, it announced recently. But that support is not financial. Back On Track Belgium says the initiative is weak.
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